County Council OKs funding school iPad initiative with tax increase

The Beaufort County Council approved a property tax increase to fund a $1.8 million iPad initiative in schools over objections from interest groups who argue the measure will hurt the housing market.

The initiative is part of a $177.9 million school board budget that passed 7-3 Monday in a council chamber dominated by about 30 supporters who filled up half the pews. Public comments took up more than an hour before the vote.

A few commenters—including John Robinson, president of the Hilton Head Area Association of Realtors—argued the effects of a 2-mil increase on the property taxes of secondary homeowners discourages investment in a sluggish economy. The county can ill afford a tax increase when it anticipates steep declines in home values from a reassessment next year, Robinson argued.

Supporters of the measure countered that schools have proven they can tighten their belts and the technology initiative offers boundless potential.

“We’re preparing students for careers that don’t even exist (yet),” said Jennifer Morillo, principal of Beaufort Elementary School.

Although the budget vote was originally slated for deep in the council’s agenda, Chairman Weston Newton brought it up for discussion and a vote early to appease the crowd.

Councilmen Brian Flewelling and Steven Baer remained unmoved, arguing there’s no concrete evidence that the devices will improve test scores in critical subjects.

“The plan is very, very vague and has not been well-documented in a scientific fashion,” Baer said, adding that the iPad isn’t ready to replace paper textbooks.

Flewelling also objected to raising the baseline budget $1.8 million when the school board could use one-time money from reserves and replace the hole over time.

Councilman Herbert Glaze said he doesn’t buy into arguments against the purchase based on the lack of concrete evidence, likening them to a patient asking for a guarantee against cancer after doing all the research.

Councilman Paul Sommerville, a supporter, characterized the 2-mil increase as a “partial claw back of the 3 mils that were eliminated” through a 2009 tax reduction that cost the district $3.6 million.

Councilman Jerry Stewart, an opponent of past increases, agreed that the school board has shown fiscal restraint and effectively won him over, but the increase might be a moot point if state-level budget negotiations veer toward the senate version, which would allow for the iPads without a tax hike. The council has the opportunity in August to adjust any unnecessary millage rate increase, he added.

Newton argued per pupil spending of $14,000 is the highest among 21 “similarly situated districts,” many of which do more with less.

He voted against the proposed school board budget along with Flewelling and Baer.

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I would support the program if they lent the devices to students like books out of the library. They would have access, but still be accountable and if one were lost or damaged, the student would pay for it. Knowing that, they would be more careful with it.

'If they give them away, where's the accountability? Lose it, no problem. Sell it, no problem. Drop it carelessly, no problem.

Giving them away only teaches them the government will take care of them, rather than teaching the real life skill of accountability. When they get a job, will they expect the same from their employer?

We're spending $14,000 per student and we are being told by people that the school board "has shown fiscal restraint'?
And as heron points out, what happens when one of these things breaks or comes up missing?
Also, like all electronics, what happens when these devices become obsolete in the next 12 months? Do we buy the newer, "improved and updated" model every year?

And I love the quote by Principal Morillo, "We're preparing students for careers that don't even exist yet".
Really?
Well, if the career doesn't exist yet, how do you know WHAT you are preparing them for and IF you are preparing them properly?
Yikes.

Accountability and personal responsibility are long gone heron. Our schools don't even TRY to teach that nowadays.
No, today it's about promoting self esteem and not keeping score.
After all, life shouldn't be about "winning".

Ask not what you can do for your country, but what your country can do for you.

Aftr reading an article in the Beaufort Gazette, it appears the iPads will not go home with the students and will remain at school. This should reduce the probabilities of theft and damage. The article did not say whether the devices would be assigned to each student by serial number.

The other bit of info was that the county money will be merged with a federal grant to purchase the 7600 iPads. Wow, some salesman is planning his big vacation on that one.

The irony is that the iPads will be issued in Title I schools, or those that are in poorer areas based on the school lunch programs. So if you live in a "wealthy" area, your kid doesn't rate one and the parent will have to buy one if needed.

This is more of the liberal transfer of wealth garbage and it is teaching those kids in Title I schools that they can depend on government assistance in the future. "It's their right to be subsidized by the taxpayers."

Do you have any idea how the money is used?
Buildings, salaries, benefits, infrastructure, sports, books, custodial, repairs, water, electric, buses, administration, and school board.
You had no idea did you all?
where would any of you bloggers be without and education.
As for Morella, he is a fool with tons of tats, and bad hair.

that time. I have to say Bobby if you do not understand the difference between an Ipad and a computer you are far behind the 8 ball in tech terms. Last but not least if you are a resident here, it is not your tax dollars that are funding this. This is to come from property tax dollars which in terms of education is only paid by non resident homeowners and commercial property owners. We pay our school taxes in sales tax(1%) to the state which does not send any of that back to our local schools because our school board does things like this. I guess the most important thing i could say is that after all this is done, I don't think it will make a twit of difference in the education of the local children. Why? Because the spanish teacher will still be asleep, and the parents still won't care.

First of all golfaddict, I understand the difference between a laptop and a computer. I don't understand the need for an iPad in schools. Though there are several apps that can be used to make things easier to do than a computer, not to mention a touch screen, it is simply a luxury and not a necessity. Making things easier only means they have to learn less.

Secondly, I never said anything about the cost. It is simply put a waste of money though.

An iPad is a glorified smart phone that should have been a fad that went out with all of the other tablets. It has the worst features of a combined smart phone and computer. It can't fit in your pocket like a phone for convenience and it can't do all of the stuff a computer can do containing drives (or at least not as efficiently). It is basically a great huge smart phone or a really crappy computer. It is more of a status symbol than anything else, just like the iPhone that has been out of date for quite some time now.

`Like the Wizard pinning a medal or a heart or a diploma to make the characters what they want to be, the iPad is similar in that the district thinks having them will make students smarter. Some years ago, it was the same with computers, which would work miracles in the classroom. Having them also makes some of the public think the district is world class. And before that, back in the 1960s, it was to have grand and glorious class rooms and what we got would rival the government buildings in DC.

This is the progressive thinking that spending megabucks will enhance education. However, test scores show that the students are performing worse than 30 years ago.

And comparing US schools to world schools, this report linked stated, "What he found was that American parents were by far the most satisfied with their local schools, while their children had the worst performance overall." That means US parents in general are gullible and misinformed.

I have a commercial business, but we do not own Ipads. How is this fair to put high tech pads into childrens hands whos parents who do not own one themselves.

And not just that but these ipads are being used by low income residents not children whos parents are well off. Are they going to have a seperate ipad class, that needs teachers, where is money really going? Thats what I want to know. I personally think they are only going to be used by children enrolled in the IB Program.

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